Evaluation of the safety of an algal biomass as an ingredient for finishing cattle

Abstract

ABSTRACT Coproducts of n-3 fatty acid production from algae are a potential feed resource for cattle. A study was conducted evaluating feeding algal biomass to cattle. Crossbred cattle (20 steers and 20 heifers, 255 kg initial BW, SD = 14) were individually fed 4 inclusions of condensed algal residue solubles (CARS; 0, 2.5, 5, 7.5% of diet DM) displacing dry-rolled corn in the finishing diet for a minimum of 97 d. Increasing CARS inclusion in the diet quadratically increased DMI and ADG (P ≤ 0.01) and linearly increased G:F (P